Philadelphia police caught disguising spy van with Google markings

updated 03:40 pm EDT, Sat May 14, 2016

by MacNN Staff

Philadelphia police van in Google's sights for unauthorized use of logo

The Philadelphia police department has been caught disguising a van equipped with sophisticated surveillance technology as a Google Streetview van, reports Motherboard. Instead of the regular cameras fitted to a Google Streetview vehicle, the surveillance vehicle was fitted with ALPR gear that uses infrared cameras to identify and process multiple license plates simultaneously, and almost instantaneously. When contacted about the van, the department disavowed the method that had been used to disguise the vehicle, stating that it had not been formally authorized by senior management, and an internal investigation has been initiated.

"We have been informed that this unmarked vehicle belongs to the police department; however, the placing of any particular decal on the vehicle was not approved through any chain of command," reads an emailed statement from the department. "With that being said, once this was brought to our attention, it was ordered that the decals be removed immediately."

Google has since confirmed that it is making its own enquiries into the unauthorized use of its company markings, though said that it may have more to say on the matter in the future. "Frankly, what I don't get is why they felt a need to hide something like this," an expert in ALPR technology told Motherboard. "It certainly makes one question the motive for doing so."

ALPR technology uses infrared cameras to find plate numbers and letters using the differential between the characters and the plate surround using optical character recognition. It can be used for intercepting vehicles involved in drug trafficking, collecting unpaid taxes, AMBER alert missions and can aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles. Even more troubling than the department's use of deception and trademark theft s that there was apparently no motivation whatsoever for the mass-scanning of license plates, which is likely to draw the scrutiny of privacy and civil-liberties groups.

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5 Comments

Interesting that in the UK this is a publicly accepted fact of life. Not only useful when parking as it is used commonly such as at airports but also by the police who openly use this method to identify and deal with uninsured cars.

A good thing as far as I am concerned even though it does tell "the man" where I am. Because we now have general licence plate recognition, the police just concentrate on the bad guys and most people accept it as a fact of life without any deception by the police needed at all.

Looks to me that the Philadelphia police have dropped the ball on this one.

Quote: " It can be used for intercepting vehicles involved in drug trafficking, collecting unpaid taxes, AMBER alert missions and can aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles. Even more troubling than the department's use of deception and trademark theft s that there was apparently no motivation whatsoever for the mass-scanning of license plates, which is likely to draw the scrutiny of privacy and civil-liberties groups." //

I suspect I'm not the only one to notice the illogic of giving a host of good reasons for plate scanning followed by the claim that "there was apparently no motivation" for this mass scanning. How, exactly, are police going determine which tags are linked to criminal activities without scanning all of them? Does MacNN think that a criminal who has triggered an AMBER alert by kidnapping a child is so stupid as to drive too fast or erratically? //

The real problem with this is like that of mass survellience by video cameras in the UK. It'll make the police lazy and sloppy. Having videos of some crimes makes the UK police slovenly about catching criminals when there is no video. Having this tag survillence is likely to mean that the police make less effort to locate, for instance, stolen cars. Plate scanning also raises troublesome issues about whether to chase or not. Yes, you certainly chase for a child kidnapping. But do you chase when someone has a couple of hundred dollars in parking tickets? And if not, why create that chase or not dilemma?

"Does MacNN think that a criminal who has triggered an AMBER alert by kidnapping a child is so stupid as to drive too fast or erratically?"

The cameras capture the plate regardless of how fast the car is going (remember, this is "mass collection and analysis," not "collection and analysis of only those speeding or breaking the law").

If this van happened to record a license plate belonging to a vehicle involved in an Amber Alert, then it wouldn't matter if the car was speeding or not -- the authorities now have a time and place for the Amber Alert vehicle, almost instantaneously, and (for obvious reasons) helps incredibly in trying to find the child for which they're looking.

Anybody remember that show Parking Wars? That show is going on 10 years old, and was shot in Philly. Their cruising and plate scanning for parking offenders was a huge part of the show and certainly never hidden. It was pretty cool actually. They'd just drive down a street and let the computer do it's thing. When it got a hit, they'd loop back and give 'em a boot.

As a long time city dweller, conscientious parker, and infrequently fined but prompt ticket payer, I'm not opposed to this practice. Pretending to be a Google vehicle is pretty disturbing, tho.

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